Thousands of families in Bristol were on the brink of being made homeless last year.

The severity of the housing crisis in the city has been laid bare in a scathing report, published today by the independent National Audit Office.

It says the Government is not taking action and is failing to work with local authorities to deal with homelessness.

The report highlights Bristol as one of eight local authorities in England with either a large increase or a relatively high number of families in temporary accommodation.

Last year (2016/17) some 3,421 Bristol families were threatened with homelessness, and were only able to remain in their own home with support from Bristol City Council. That is more than three times the number seven years ago. Another 1,114 homeless families applied for assistance last year, the report found.

And the number of people sleeping rough on our streets is also more than nine times higher than it was six years ago.

Soaring numbers

Community groups play their part (Image: Gary Webber)

The NAO pointed the finger at the Government, saying it had not evaluated the impact of its welfare reforms on homelessness, or the impact of its mitigations.

In England, some 120,540 children were homeless as of March 2017, a 73 per cent increase from six years ago.

The “biggest single driver” of statutory homelessness is the ending of private sector tenancies, the report said.

Last year, 347 Bristol families were recorded as homeless following the end of an assured short hold tenancy, and that figure could be a lot higher, as cases remain unreported.

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Bristol is in the grip of a housing crisis, with increasing population and demand for homes leading to a huge rise in property prices.

“It appears likely the decrease in affordability of properties in the private rented sector, of which welfare reforms such as the capping of Local Housing Allowance are an element, have driven this increase in homelessness,” the NAO said.

The NAO added that there was no “cross-government strategy” to prevent and tackle homelessness.

“Although the Government is responsible for tackling homelessness, during its increase, it took a light touch approach to working with local authorities,” the watchdog said.

In Bristol

The Wild Goose Cafe (Image: Dave Betts)

There has been a huge increase in the number of families currently in temporary accommodation.

As of March 2017, 537 families in Bristol are in temporary accommodation – a 238 per cent increase in six years.

In 2015/16, Bristol City Council was spending some £6.1million on homelessness services, the report showed.

Bristol was one of eight cities which the NAO visited as part of the report. It was selected because it either had a relatively high number of households in temporary accommodation, or it has seen a relatively large increase.

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A national scandal

House of Commons Public Accounts Committee chair Meg Hillier said: “It is a national scandal that more and more people are made homeless every year.

“This report illustrates the very real human cost of the Government’s failure to ensure people have access to affordable housing.

“The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) ‘light-touch’ approach clearly isn’t working. Its plans for the future merely seem to shift more responsibility and cost to local authorities at a time when they are already stretched.”

A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: “Homelessness is a tragedy, as a settled home is crucial to health and wellbeing for individuals and families, and is a central cornerstone of successful communities.